Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.82 Million Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,971 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 21,276 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of A. O. Smith worth $14,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP increased its position in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.43. 517,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 970,589. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.71. The company has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $68.07 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.